Must read/write
Want this job?
Apply here.
Know someone that would be perfect for this role?
Don’t be remote - forward this email and tell them to apply.
Chief of Staff
Why this is a great job
It’s a thoughtfully structured role (amongst other thoughtfully structured roles at the company) at a remote company (though you’d need to be SF-based to be near the CEO). They raised $268 million at a valuation of $2.75 billion, so this is a real company (likely) not too far away from an exit, too.
The nitty gritty
Company website: about.gitlab.com
Who you’d be working for: Sib Sibrandji, CEO
About GitLab
GitLab Inc. is a company based on the GitLab open-source project. GitLab is a community project to which over 1,000 people worldwide have contributed. We are an active participant in this community, trying to serve its needs and lead by example. We have one vision: everyone can contribute to all digital content, and our mission is to change all creative work from read-only to read-write so that everyone can contribute.
We value results, transparency, sharing, freedom, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, directness, kindness, diversity, boring solutions, and quirkiness. If these values match your personality, work ethic, and personal goals, we encourage you to visit our primer to learn more. Open source is our culture, our way of life, our story, and what makes us truly unique.
This is a position based in San Francisco, CA, USA to attend in-person meetings.
The Chief of Staff is a very talented individual who serves as a trusted advisor and confidant to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for up to 36 months. The Chief of Staff and the CEO work closely together to get twice as much done as the CEO would be able to do alone. Over time the work will get more interesting culminating in a senior leadership position at GitLab or another company. This is a unique opportunity to see every aspect of a fast-growing unicorn at the CEO level. For more context see the references at the end of this page.
This is a senior leadership role. This role does not do any work our Executive Assistants are already doing, who for example, is responsible for scheduling and driving the Objective and Key Results (OKR) process. It also is unrelated to the work of our CEO Shadow training program who, for example, takes notes during all meetings with the CEO.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities include both directed work that will mostly be triggered by a direction from the CEO as well as leadership work that is self-directed. Over the course of a rotation, the mix will shift from majority directed work to majority leadership work.
Directed Work
Create investor updates, group conversations, pitch decks, speeches, conference submissions, and presentations on behalf of the CEO.
Suggest changes to processes via the handbook based on discussions during meetings or from the CEO and address any comments on them.
Draft blog posts and articles out of recorded meetings and handbook content.
Ensure all upcoming meetings are relevant, well structured, and that the preparation is complete and correct.
Ensure action points coming out of meetings (i.e. executive, OKR, metrics, or incident meetings) are implemented.
Reinforce communication guidelines.
Help create mecefu-terms.
Keep this job family up-to-date.
Leadership Work
Review OKR suggestions during the scheduled OKR meetings and outside of the meetings.
Brief CEO visitors on GitLab before they visit.
Help contribute topics for the E-group offsite.
Serve as a proxy for the CEO by attending meetings in place of the CEO and making decisions on the CEO's behalf.
Chief of Staff will participate in every E-group meeting. The person will not be an executive or part of the e-group.
Act as the communication arm for the CEO with team members, clients, investors, community members, and other stakeholders.
Act as a sounding board to the CEO for new ideas and initiatives.
Run special projects that are urgent and important, for example building a company wide compensation model.
Requirements
Capacity to become a senior leader at GitLab.
Proven ability to quickly learn new things.
Concise written and verbal communication.
Based in San Francisco, CA, USA to attend in-person meetings.
Structured about how to prioritize work and time.
Able to make a clear business case for proposals.
Master’s degree in Engineering or Business Administration or equivalent experience.
Experience with data analysis.
Proven success in project coordination and reporting.
Proven track record of effectively interacting with senior stakeholders on cross-functional projects.
Experience leading a team.
4+ years combined experience in:
Senior operating role at a significant fast-growing startup,
Strategy consulting,
or Venture capital.
Operational experience in a previous role.
Preferred Requirements
Knows how to use git.
Rotation
Rotation is 24 to 36 months with the following tentative schedule:
2-3 months of onboarding,
18 months of execution,
1 - 4 months of recruiting your replacement and waiting for them to start,
2 - 3 months of onboarding your replacement and interviewing at GitLab for senior leadership positions.
Internal Consultants
The Chief of Staff could have two high potential but relatively inexperienced operators report to them; i.e. someone who left a strategy consultancy after a few years. These internal consultants are training for future functions in the company. Their responsibilities could include; analysis, middle management and fill in the experience gaps missing from the Chief of Staff.
Compensation
To view the full job description and its compensation calculator, view our handbook. The compensation calculator can be found towards the bottom of the page.
Share onejob with someone who contributes to your life from afar.